May 19

Saint Dunstan, Malcolm X, Yuri Kochiyama, and Greg Boyle

Author

David Barnhart
May 19, 2025

Glastonbury Abbey, 2011. Own photo.

Today is the feast day of Saint Dunstan, who died on this day in 988. As a monk he worked as both artist and scribe. His life as a monk and bishop was marked by political upheaval, and he was both friend and enemy to several kings. He used his influence to restore monasticism in England and rebuilt the Abbey of Glastonbury. He eventually became archbishop of Canterbury.  

Today is the birthday of both Malcom X, in 1925, and Yuri Kochiyama, in 1921, who were civil rights activists. They became friends and illustrated how Black and Japanese Americans could be aligned in revolutionary movements for liberation. 

Today is also the birthday, in 1954, of Father Greg Boyle, priest and organizer for ministry in Los Angeles. His work with gangs and violence intervention led him to found Homeboy Industries. 

Reflection:

Yuri Kochiyama wrote:   

“Life is not what you alone make it. Life is the input of everyone who touched your life and every experience that entered it. We are all part of one another.”

Malcolm X wrote:

"I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I'm a human being, first and foremost, and as such I'm for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole."

Greg Boyle wrote: 

“Here is what we seek: a compassion that can stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgment at how they carry it.”

Prayer: God, we so easily slide into a mindset of binary judgment, of good and bad, right and wrong, that obscures our ability to experience awe. Help us suspend judgment long enough for our curiosity and wonder to take root in our hearts and grow into compassion. Amen.